Donut Wedding Cake

I saw this...LOVED it...made my mouth water! A Donut Wedding Cake!!

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I know what you're thinking - the couple got married at Dunkin' Donuts, right? This couple happened to just really not like cake.

I saw it though and thought how perfect it would be for a morning-after-wedding brunch, or a fantastic morning bridal shower.

I just love the little bow-tie for the groom donut too!

This would actually be a really simple way to do a fancy dessert completely DIY. You could rent a cupcake stand and easily stack the donuts around. So pretty!

What do you think? Would you use donuts for your cake or as a great option for a brunch wedding related event?

Amazing Lip Snyc'd Wedding Video

Sounds crazy right? Seriously though - I loved every minute of this! What an awesome way to record your wedding! But, of course, Platinum Digital Video is completely amazing always, so I'm not surprised! They are truly one of our favorites to work with, and we do a little happy dance every time we get to!

Check this out!

This would be so much fun to watch years down the road - could you imagine how much your kids will love it too?! Platinum Digital Video filmed their ceremony as well for DVD, so the couple's got the best of both worlds. They'll have a traditional video of their ceremony with a totally rocking record of the entire day. How many couples can say they have video of all their guests playing air guitar?!

Would you do this for your wedding? What song would you pick?

Beer at Your Wedding

Craft beer is all the rage now, and since there are so many amazing local breweries here in Gainesville, these are some classy ways to incorporate beer into your wedding! While this may not be for everyone, for our beer lovers out there, you understand the beauty and fun that can be had with making beer a theme to your wedding.

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These adorable labels can transform any beer into a special detail at your wedding. Whether its a home brew that you bottled, or a beer that someone else brewed, these labels really make a statement and can wow your guests!

Koozies are a great wedding favor as well! Especially since one of our local breweries will start selling their beer in cans soon. (We're looking at you Swamp Head!) There are also so many fun slogans to put on koozies that you are really able to add a personal touch to your wedding like you can see here:

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And here:

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Don't forget a great chalkboard sign on the bar to tell guests all about their special selections!

Would you make beer a focus or theme of your wedding? Can you think of any more ways to do incorporate beer in a fun, classy way?

Wedding Cornhole

We recently had a bride and groom who had a special cornhole game made for their cocktail hour, and it was a HUGE hit with the guests! Guests loved having a fun game to play in a beautiful outdoor setting, and the bride and groom got some fantastic pictures playing too! Check them out at here at Rob Witzel Photography's blog. They're seriously gorgeous photos from an amazing day!

These cornhole sets are beautiful, and they show the range of styles and how they can be incorporated with any wedding theme!

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Would you have cornhole for your guests at cocktail hour? What would they look like? Would you have any other yard games as well?

The Wonderful World of Harry Potter - Wedding Style

Ok - confession time....I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan (read "nerd" here). I'm not kidding, it may be a bit of an obsession (possibly a problem). I've read all the books, own most of the movies, and have visited the theme park....you get the idea...

If you've been reading my blog at all, you've noticed that I have a soft spot too for the non-traditional and unique when it comes to weddings.

Soooo, when I saw these I was in heaven! For a little Friday Fun, I thought I'd share them with you too for any fellow Muggles out there. :)

Harry Potter Wedding Invites via The Mary Sue

I  love the owl seal! It's a perfect touch to get the theme started. You can actually do this yourself with colored hot glue and a wax stamp seal. It's less messy and dries much faster than the real thing.

Harry Potter Snitch Wedding Cake via Offbeat Bride 

How cool is the snitch cake?! Still elegant, but completely theme worthy!

Sorting Hat Escort Cards and Favor Wands via The Mary Sue

This might be my favorite - the Sorting Hat for escort cards! This bride and groom used engraved wands as favors. Each wand had a tag with the guests' house chosen for them.

Harry Potter Table Decor via Offbeat Bride

I thought using pages from the books to wrap around candles was brilliant too!

Harry Potter Wedding Guest Book via Offbeat Bride

This guest book can be easily re-done for a non Harry Potter wedding. They asked guests to make a fun prediction at a time, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years in the future for the couple. They'll open and read them on the different anniversaries.

Finally - The Hogwarts Express!!

Hogwarts Express via The Mary Sue

Granted, this is probably not a realistic addition to most weddings, but really - isn't it awesome?! :)

Ok, I know that this is a stretch for most people, even for me. But I do love how it speaks to the major trend now of making your wedding completely your own and all about your individual love story. I tell all my couples that really there aren't any hard and fast rules any longer. Do what you both love and feels right. Follow traditions, or not, if you're true to your uniqueness, your guests will remember that and love you even more.

Happy Friday all! "Mischief managed!" ;)

Cute Bridesmaid Photo

The girls you pick as your bridesmaids are your closest girlfriends, most meaningful confidants, and those that you love. It's a really special thing to experience together.

Sometimes though, your typical bridesmaid photos don't do those relationships justice. That's why I thought this was so neat! It captures that glimpse of why these ladies are so special to you.

Bridesmaid Photo via Wish Upon a Wedding

With simple chalkboard signs, they all wrote where they met the bride. I am loving this! Just looking at the picture would bring back memories of a lifetime of fun.

Where did you meet your bridesmaids? Would you love a picture like this too?

Unique Welcome Bags

Welcome bags are customary for greeting out of town guests when they arrive for your big celebration, and there's so much fun to be had with them beyond the typical water bottles, snacks, and an itinerary for the weekend. You can include bits of information about the place you are getting married, or add treats that are themed to your wedding. Check out these cute ideas we found!

Oranges Welcome Bag via Martha Stewart

This bride and groom hand picked Florida oranges before their wedding and added that special treat to their guests' welcome bags.

Tanning Welcome Bag via Martha Stewart

This bride and groom made sure all of their guests were ready for fun in the sun on their destination beach wedding by added a beach towel and sunscreen to the bags.

One of our couples here in Gainesville, Florida are adding local made chocolates and a personalized map with their favorite places in town for their guests.

We love these ideas! What would you add to your welcome bags? Would you theme them to your location or your wedding?

Mutual Weirdness and Dr. Seuss

Having three little boys running around at home gives me a special place in my heart for all things Dr. Seuss. Our current favorite is "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

I stumbled across this on Facebook one day and it seemed so perfectly wonderful I thought that you all might enjoy it too.

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It then completely reminded me of one of my favorite wedding signs I've ever pinned on Pinterest.

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It makes me smile every time I remember about it. I feel like it describes my hubby and I to a tee! You've got to be able to laugh at each other and yourselves, I think, to make it through all the years. Who better to add a little extra whimsy than Dr. Seuss, right?

Would you add some Seuss-ical elements to your wedding?

Happy Friday everyone! May your weekend be full of mutual weirdness and love! :)

DIY Ribbon Streamers

One of our favorite venues here in Gainesville, Florida is the Historic Thomas Center. The gardens, architecture, and ballroom are just beautiful, and completely unique to Gainesville, making it ideal for a wedding.

That being said, as a historic building, there are restrictions that go with it. One of the biggies that our couples run into frequently is the fact that you aren't allowed to throw anything - no rice, rose petals, confetti, bubbles, sparklers, etc.

We have an amazingly wonderful couple getting married there at the end of the month. They wanted something to help celebrate the BIG KISS and came up with the idea for ribbon streamers for guests to wave. Being the crafty, wonderful, wedding planners that we are, we were on call to help! :)

We thought we'd put up the step-by-step DIY instructions for you too!

Thing's you'll need:

12 inch wooden dowels
2-3 feet of ribbon, per dowel
Hot Glue and Glue Gun
Sharp Scissors

Start by cutting your ribbon into 2 to 3 feet long strands. In this case, we used three thin strands of different colors for each streamer. It would also work with wider ribbon, using one color per dowel.

Since we were using three, we loosely tied the colors together first.

Then we inserted the dowel into the loose knot with the long strands falling out away from the dowel.

Place a dab of hot glue at the top of the dowel and tighten the knot down on top of the glue dab.

Wait a second for the glue to harden and then place a second small dab of glue on top of the knot. It will dry clear and secure the  knot.

Trim the extra ribbon off the end of the knot and you're done!

Our bride's flower girl will hand them out to guests as she walks down the aisle.

Pretty, right? We can't wait for their big day coming up at the end of the month! Check back for the photographs by Pure by Lindsey Photography! We can't wait to show you what our streamers looked like in action!

What special touches are you making yourself for your wedding?

Dictionary Guest Book

You know how much I love unique guest books! I came across this one and had to share it with all of you!

Dictionary Guest Book via MyWedding

Guests signed their names by finding words in the dictionary that described the bride and groom. How much fun is this?! Imagine how creative your guests can be with the entire dictionary at their disposal!

They called it "Defining Moments" - isn't that the perfect phrase to use on a sign for guests by the book?

This would be so much fun to use as your family dictionary. You'd stumble across new things every time you used it. 

What words would you pick out to describe your fiance? 

Butterfly Wedding Ideas

Nothing says "Spring" more beautifully than a butterfly! Check out these simple and gorgeous ideas for incorporating butterflies into your wedding:

Aren't these Escort Cards so pretty?! The butterflies seem to float right above the table!

Butterfly Escort Cards via Martha Stewart

They're actually a pretty simple DIY project from Martha Stewart. You can find the complete instructions here. 

How about this alternative to a typical bouquet? 

Butterfly Bouquet via Martha Stewart

Of course, being Martha, this is a DIY project too! Check out the easy steps here. Since the butterflies are all on wires, they'll flutter as you walk down the aisle! What a great fairy tale touch!

Finally, how stunning is this cake?!

Butterfly Wedding Cake via Martha Stewart

It's simple elegance and Spring all wrapped up in one! So pretty!

One of our favorite wedding venues here in town is the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus. They've got a beautiful Butterfly Rainforest that you can actually get married in! The pictures are stunning to say the least! 

Are you incorporating butterflies into your wedding? Comment and tell us how! 

Daisy Bouquet

I'm loving the wildflower look that's becoming more and more popular these days. It's just so natural, simple, sweet, and beautiful.

I might love this take on it even more - a bouquet made entirely of daisies!

Daisy Bouquet via Ruffled

It's the wildflower feel with a little more fun thrown in. Who doesn't smile when they see daisies? They're just so happy!

I think this bouquet is perfect for a summer wedding for you or your bridesmaids. How about you?